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Topaz Adjust Tutorials
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Anyone have any hints or tips they'd like to share?
I'll start off with a very simple one that has had some good results for me.
I use this mainly for portraits to get a smooth, glowing effect.
First: of course, always make a copy of the original file and work with.
1.Open the copy in Photoshop
2.Smooth out the image. The idea here is to remove most of the finer detail so that in the next stage, the "Vibrance" effect will not make the photo look unnaturally sharp.
I ususally run Topaz Adjust "simplify" preset (adjust sliders down) or you could use TA's noise reduction tab or you can try any noise reduction plug-in and adjust it too high.
3. Next, use Topaz Adjust's "Vibrance" preset and adjust the sliders way down, This brings back some of the detail and shading to the simplified image.
You can see the results of just this much editing in the last example posted below (of the guy flashing the peace sign).
In the 2 other pics, I continued to experiment with other effects, I sometimes add a levels adjustment or use unsharp mask to accent highlights or I may use a softening action, basically experimenting until I'm happy with the results. But the main effect is achieved through TA's 'simplify' and 'vibrance' presets.
here are some results.
You can see before and after pics and if you go to the my photo page and follow the link to the thread at the "Pimp MY Pixels" group you can see the originals in larger sizes.
Hope you like this.
sorry, no "beore" pic for this one.
Originally posted at 10:59AM, 26 December 2008 PDT
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jfdpl686 (a group admin) edited this topic 40 months ago.
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I must admit that I have found portraits the one thing that do not benefit from Topaz!
But I do like the effects you have managed here, particularly on the hair of the two ladies, it's a technique I will have to try out, probably after selecting the hair though!
Good idea for a thread by the way.
Posted 42 months ago.
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Well, I use Topaz in 98% of my process. I like what Glass_House did here. For this kind of effects, it's great. When I'm not looking for special effects, I just mask or create different layers for skin.
Posted 42 months ago.
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Here is my process for what I call Topaz Real Color
Step 1
Open your image as usual, RAW or JPG. Adjust white balance, exposure, color saturation, contrast, etc. You can do that from your software and favorite method; Since I use Photoshop, I prefer doing it in ACR. For this step, I’m more worried about the color balance AND the highlights/shadows. You can use any method and any number of layers to get the picture look best. In this step is where I apply Painting with Light or I smooth the skin in people. I tend to work in 16 bit since it gives more tones to avoid banding or posterization. Remember to FLATTEN the Image when done.
Original
Step 1
Step 2.
Adjust curves as required. Curves is a very powerful tool. It can correct color shifts and contrast. Really, learn curves! (Google “using curves in photoshop” for several tutorials).
Step 3.
Duplicate the Background Layer. It will create a new “Layer 1”
Step 4.
In “Layer 1”, clean the noise. Use your favorite method. You can use DeNoise, Noise Ninja, Noiseware, etc. Just keep in mind to apply a somewhat STRONG setting so you remove some detail. Each image is different, RAW files support stronger settings while you shall be more gentle with JPGs. In my case, for an “everyday” use, I prefer Noise Ninja (due speed) so it’s what I’m showing here (note the bricks on the building getting soft).
Step 5.
Turn “Layer 1” to Black and White. You can do that by desaturing the image (Image-adjustments-desaturate) or my favorite method turning into a “controlled” B&W (Image-adjustments- Black & White). If you use the second method, you have more control over the image; I like to use the “Darker” preset but sometimes the “lighter” one works nice too.
Step 6.
Duplicate “Layer 1”. It will create a new “Layer 1 Copy”. Rename it to “Topaz1” and Apply topaz with your favorite setting. (In this case I’m using spicify).
For photoshop users, if you wish, you could convert this layer to a Smart layer and apply Topaz. When you do this, you can always modify the settings of Topaz by double clicking the “smart layer”; this is helpful when you’re not sure your final image will look right. Smart filters require more memory BUT allow you to go back to fine tune.
Step 7.
Select “Background” and duplicate it. It will create “Background Copy”. Rename it to “Color” and move it to the top of the layer. Change the blending mode to Color. You can play with the opacity to fine-tune the color.
Step 8.
Select “Background” and duplicate it. It will create “Background Copy”. Rename it to “Detail” and move it to the top of the layer. Change the blending mode to Overly. Apply High Pass filter. In this step, I like to convert the layer to a smart filter to be able to come back to fine tune the High Pass filter if needed. Use a value between 3 and 9 depending on the detail you want to show. For this image I used 5.
Step 9
Create Adjustment Layers as required. I sometimes apply Hue/Saturation, Brightness/Contrast and/or Selective Color. Whit Hue/Saturation you can help removing a color cast, or increase overall saturation; Brightness/Contrast is intuitive and Selective color could help you boost an specific color.
That’s my workflow! I constantly use it and I created an action for it, so I can do it quickly not taking me more than a minute for a given capture.
NOW, the OPTIONAL STEPS when I layered the image… So many times a Topaz Setting is beneficial only to a part of the image, or more than one setting is desired… For this example, I think the sky could be better with a different setting, Spicify rendered nicely the building, but the sky is blah… So I do this:
Step 10
Select “Layer 1” and duplicate it; it creates a “Layer 1 Copy”; rename it to “Topaz2”.
Then click on the eye of “topaz1” layer to hide it. Make sure you’re working on “Topaz2” layer, apply Topaz with the new setting (in this case I used dramatic).
At this point, you can click on the eye of “Topaz1” layer to hide/reveal the layer for comparison purposes. Now, add a layer mask at the “Topaz1” layer, depending on what you want, it could be to reveal or hide as required. For this case, I use a reveal one, then with a hard brush I painted with black over the sky to hide the spicify setting and reveal the dramatic setting from the layer below.
You can do this as many times as you need. Always duplicating the “Layer 1” to “Topaz3”, “Topaz4” and so on. Using masks on each one.
If several layers get complicated due the masks, then you can always Select “Topaz1” and Topaz2” layers and merge them, then create another layer and repeat the process.
Originally posted 42 months ago.
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jfdpl686 (a group admin) edited this topic 40 months ago.
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A different approach to the process explained before.
This one I call it Topaz Natural Color.
Step 1
Open your image as usual, RAW or JPG. Adjust white balance, exposure, color saturation, contrast, etc. You can do that from your software and favorite method; Since I use Photoshop, I prefer doing it in ACR. For this step, I’m more worried about the color balance AND the highlights/shadows. You can use any method and any number of layers to get the picture look best. In this step is where I apply Painting with Light or I smooth the skin in people. I tend to work in 16 bit since it gives more tones to avoid banding or posterization. Remember to FLATTEN the Image when done.
For the image of the model, in ACR I adjusted White Balance and exposure. Then opened the image in Photoshop and applied a correct amount of Noise Reduction (correct meaning NOT losing detail). I corrected skin flaws with the spot healing and then soften her skin with Gaussian blur (duplicate layer, applied Gaussian blur at 20%, hide all layer mask, painted with white soft brush on the mask to reveal the soft skin, and finally change opacity to around 40%); I flattered the image and then I used Painting with light action (atncentral) to lighten/darken some areas. Finally I flatten the image to “Background” layer.
Step 2.
Adjust curves as required. Curves is a very powerful tool. It can correct color shifts and contrast. Really, learn curves! (Google “using curves in photoshop” for several tutorials).
Step 3.
Duplicate the Background Layer. It will create a new “Layer 1”
Step 4.
In “Layer 1”, clean the noise. Use your favorite method. You can use DeNoise, Noise Ninja, Noiseware, etc. Just keep in mind to apply a somewhat STRONG setting so you remove some detail. Each image is different, RAW files support stronger settings while you shall be more gentle with JPGs. In my case, for an “everyday” use, I prefer Noise Ninja (due speed) so it’s what I’m showing here (note the bricks on the building getting soft).
Step 5
In “Layer 1” Image-Adjustments-Hue/Saturation: Move SATURATION to -95 (minus 95) to remove most color. “Layer 1” Is the KEY layer, it will be used several times, so KEEP IT.
Step 6
Duplicate “Layer 1”. It will create a new “Layer 1 Copy”. Rename it to “Topaz1” and Apply topaz with your favorite setting. (In this case I’m using Crisp).
For photoshop users, if you wish, you could convert this layer to a Smart layer and apply Topaz. When you do this, you can always modify the settings of Topaz by double clicking the “smart layer”; this is helpful when you’re not sure your final image will look right. Smart filters require more memory BUT allow you to go back to fine tune.
Step 7.
Select “Background” and duplicate it. It will create “Background Copy”. Rename it to “Color” and move it to the top of the layer. Change the blending mode to Color or Saturation. You can play with the opacity to fine-tune the color. In this case, I use a blending mode of Saturation and opacity at 93%
Step 8.
Select “Background” and duplicate it. It will create “Background Copy”. Rename it to “Detail” and move it to the top of the layer. Change the blending mode to Overly. Apply High Pass filter. In this step, I like to convert the layer to a smart filter to be able to come back to fine tune the High Pass filter if needed. Use a value between 3 and 9 depending on the detail you want to show. For this image I used 6. (Check the OPTIONAL STEPS for the rest on this image)
Step 9
Create Adjustment Layers as required. I sometimes apply Hue/Saturation, Brightness/Contrast and/or Selective Color. Whit Hue/Saturation you can help removing a color cast, or increase overall saturation; Brightness/Contrast is intuitive and Selective color could help you boost an specific color. For this Image, I didn’t use any adjustment layer.
NOW, the OPTIONAL STEPS when I layered the image… So many times a Topaz Setting is beneficial only to a part of the image, or more than one setting is desired… For this example, I think the swimsuit and pool edges could benefit of psychedelic while the sky could be better with dramatic. So I do this:
Step 10
Since Topaz Adjust is not “skin friendly” and I already spent time fixing the skin, I want to hide what Topaz did to her skin, so I created a “reveal all” layer mask and with a soft black brush I painted the skin to hide Topaz and reveal the originally fixed skin.
Step 11
Select “Layer 1” to duplicate it and create “Layer 1 Copy”; rename it to “Topaz2” and move it ABOVE “Topaz1”. Apply Topaz Adjust with Psychedelic preset. Once done, I applied a “hide all” layer mask (this hide the psychedelic look). With a white soft brush I painted over the swimsuit, the hat and the edges of the pool.
Step 12
Select “Layer 1” to duplicate it and create “Layer 1 Copy”; rename it to “Topaz3” and move it ABOVE “Topaz2”. Apply Topaz Adjust with Dramatic preset. Once done, I applied a “hide all” layer mask (this hide the dramatic look). With a white soft brush I painted over the sky.
You can do this as many times as you need. Always duplicating the “Layer 1” to “Topaz4”, “Topaz5” and so on. Using masks on each one.
If several layers get complicated due the masks, then you can always Select “Topaz1” and Topaz2” layers and merge them, then create another layer and repeat the process.
Remember, each Topaz Adjust effect on the “Topaz#” layers could be soften playing with the opacity tab.
Originally posted 41 months ago.
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jfdpl686 (a group admin) edited this topic 40 months ago.
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Thanks for posting all the info here. In another thread (I cannot find it now!) someone suggested that I use a noisefilter first and that has made a difference too.
I just wish I could find an easy way to keep track of my editing steps!
Posted 41 months ago.
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In my workflow I use two passes of Noise Ninja but any denoiser will work. I Have my workflows as actions, so I constantly do the same, sometimes I add some layers for creating different looks, but doing it after the action finished is so easy.
I could share my action to whoever is interested, but you shall have to modify it for the noise reduction and even sometimes for the Topaz (depending on the version). So you need some knowledge to modify it (which is really ease).
Posted 41 months ago.
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I edited the name of this thread just to keep some organization. So we can have defined thread names. No other change was done.
Posted 40 months ago.
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Adding different Textures and Presets in Topaz Adjust
This is a simple idea, masking areas and texturizing each one differently as you can see in my example with the sky, water, houses and trees.
The explanation below is for Paint Shop pro (PSP XI). Jorge improved my writing :-) and added explanations for PS users.
The goal is to create a layer and corresponding mask for each area you want to apply different presets or textures to. In my example, I created 4 different layers, one for each sky, water, houses and trees).
1. Start duplicating the background (original image) and rename the copied layer “base”
2. Fix “base” to your liking (adjust colors, smooth, etc.) and clean noise.
3.Copy “base” and rename it accordingly the area you’re working.
4. Apply Topaz Adjust to your liking and texturize it.
5. Create new layer mask “hide all” and paint with a white brush on the area you want to reveal
6. Click on “base” and duplicate it, move it to the top, rename it accordingly to the new area you will work on.
7. Apply Topaz Adjust to your liking and texturize it.
8. Create new layer mask “hide all” and paint with a white brush on the area to reveal it.
* Follow steps 6 thru 8 as many times as required.
Layers and masking in PSP XI
Please note: When applying masks the layers are changed to “groups”.
If you haven’t used layers and masks, just email me, I’ll try to help.
For this technique, I prefer masking with ‘hide all’, because it’s easier for me to decide which area I want to see instead of having to hide all areas I don’t want to see. Using ‘show all’ (reveal all for Photoshop users) masks gets confusing when having many masks on top of each other… but that’s just me J.
Texturing in Photoshop.
Filter-Texture-Texturizing
You have just a few textures to pick, but you can create your own textures. To do so, open any picture with the texture you want and save it as psd (I have an special folder with my textures). Then in the texturizer window, click the menu icon (located at the right of the texture pick box) and click on load texture. Navigate to your psd texture files and pick it.
Texturizing in Paint Shop Pro.
Effects-Texture effects
To create new textures, save the image as BMP and place it in the texture folder.
Presets and Textures used for this image (PSP XI):
- Trees. Clarity for Topaz and ‘Grass’ as texture.
- House. DelosJ’s Dave Hill for Topaz and no texture
- Water. Spicify for Topaz and ‘Grain Long’ as texture
- Sky. DelosJ’s Dave Hill for Topaz and ‘Small Stones’ as texture
The texture settings were as follows:
Texture Grass Grain long Small Stones
Use for Trees and Grass Water Sky
Size 100 100 100
Smoothn. 2 1 26
Depth 27 1 1
Ambience 0 0 0
Shininess 36 35 35
Angle 315 315 315
Intensity 76 76 76
Elevation 18 18 18
The textures in PSP XI are extremely powerful. By just playing around with Smoothness and Depth you can get extremely different textures. By
Enjoy and play with this, even mixing Topaz Simplify!
If you like further help, please email me.
Cheers
Heide
Posted 40 months ago.
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Ok, I just modify my tutorial in a more comprehensive steps and for the first post some screen captures so you can see what I do.
I have two more process called "Topaz Color Pop" and "Topaz Color Blast" mostly base on the same process only to, as the name suggest, increase the final color.
I hope this make more sense and help eveybody.
Posted 40 months ago.
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JF
Wonderful tutorial.
Thank you
I also PP out of ACR, raw. PSCS3, large files..
Just never know when you want to printone of our master peices..lol
Topaz denoise on my new machine does now process much faster.
Posted 40 months ago.
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